You gotta love the irony of this rationale. Although, on the too-many times it's been yelled in my face, I wasn't able to really appreciate the subtleties. I was just trying to not react in a less than intelligent way, like say- laughing in their face. It's not always easy. The speaker might as well have told me, "The Moon is made of chocolate, and its dripped all over their car!" All I can do is maybe hand them a napkin and go on about my business.

If I don't see any truth in your story, or think your Jesus dude is anyone's 'savior', or that your God or any god created the sky or the dirt or did anything at any time, anywhere; why would I fear some horrible place you refer to as Hell? Why would I worry I'm going to wind up somewhere I don't think exists? If I worry about anything, it's that there are many young people who learn to argue about their 'beliefs' before their minds start to work.

You have to remember that theists don't consider things from our vantage point. Like the illogic of not accepting a dude named Jesus as the answer to mortality and then worrying about the hellish consequences. The world view as a freethinker allows us to ask the tough questions and not be encumbered by outdated religious notions.

(Not lashing out at you Ed, it's just the vibe--like walking through a spiders web, I can't seem to get the feeling of it off the back of my neck)

I'm sorry...tell me again why I have to remember this? Why do I, as an atheist, really have to consider anything that a believer thinks or says in any way? Will it change me--No! Will it change them...who gives a...?I don't CARE what these people 'believe'...that's why I'm an atheist. I don't want the world to turn to shit--they love it!!And yes! I'm just as certain and closed-minded about this as I am about the existence of gravity!

I don't want to hear that they think this, or they think that; it makes absolutely no difference to me at all whether they can see things from our vantage point or not.(I didn't slip a doorman a C-note to get the seat I have, I just looked up and was able to see!)

I don't care that they remain ignorant of the history that tells of the 'countless' (a very powerful word btw) people that have either been killed or were allowed to die because of the things that they think about and believe in. It's their choice--not mine! I'm using this phrase in it's most literal sense...I don't care!

"If you don't believe in jesus as your savior you are going to burn in hell !" - thank fuck because if I had to choose between that and being bored for eternity by those driveling christians in heaven I would take hell any time.